Washington Post

PSP, I Love You: For Gamers, The Date Has Finally Arrived

By Jose Antonio Vargas
Thursday, March 24, 2005

"...Chris Gillis's plan goes something like this: Be up at 7 a.m., throw on jeans and a T-shirt, make the five-minute drive to Target. Then wait in line. Target, at Westfield Shoppingtown in Wheaton, opens at 8.

He must get the PSP. He will get the PSP.

The first million PSPs -- short for PlayStation Portable -- are in stores today. A lot of people went to EB Games or GameStop or FYE, stores that took pre-orders, Gillis figures. Other hard-core gamers wouldn't think of going to Target, which didn't take pre-orders. If Target sells out, his Plan B is Toys R Us or Circuit City. No pre-orders there, either.

When the 21-year-old says "I want the PSP badly," it's hard not to believe him.

Sony's PSP, retailing for $249, is entering the portable gaming territory long dominated by Nintendo's GameBoy. In marketing-speak, Sony describes the PSP as "the first truly integrated portable" system. In consumer-speak, it means you can play video games, watch movies, download MP3 files, store JPEG images -- and, thanks to built-in WiFi wireless networking, face off against someone on the Internet.

In short, the PSP is a multitasker suited to these hyperactive times. We want it all. We want it here. We want it now.

In the world of the now, the PSP is the new thing, the gadget of the moment. In this world your Xbox isn't enough, so you need a PlayStation 2 on top of the GameCube. This is the world where 15-year-old Landon Tate in Peoria, Ill., couldn't hold out until today for the PSP so he spent his Christmas money (all $554 of it) in December to buy one imported from Japan..."

"...Then, he adds, "I've outgrown the GameBoy. The only people I see playing GameBoys are my nieces and nephews. The PSP is like the iPod. It's a cool image to be seen with."

For the past two weeks, he's logged on regularly to IGN.com, a popular gaming site with more than 20 million unique visitors a month.

Some of the postings that appeared in recent weeks in anticipation of the PSP:

"Should I sell my iPod? Need your opinion."

"PSP: Soon to be the most stolen product in schools everywhere."

"Don't Miss the New York PlayStation Portable Meetup Group." (Hector Martinez, the 30-year-old corporate trainer who posted this, said in a phone interview that the group has 31 members -- 10 of whom will meet tomorrow at the Manhattan Mall on Sixth Avenue and 33rd Street to play against each other.)..."

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